In the bin or give them away?

Being a man of a certain age, most people seem to run out of gift ideas for me. At Christmas I therefore seem to end up with a whole lot of food and drink crap as gifts. My dilemma is simply this...should I bin them all, or should I re-gift them. I feel bad re-gifting as it really will all be bad for whoever the recipients are (and most people I would consider giving them to will likely have already had too much sugar over the holidays anyway...or has similar gift residue to be "finished up"). But I also have a real hang-up about waste...so I have a massive head block to throw it away. I'm also slightly afraid that the longer I procrastinate about the decision, the more likely I am to do neither - and eat/drink some of it myself.

This comment is really uncomfortable to read. Not everyone has your support system, knowledge, background or income. People get fat for all kinds of reasons. Not all of them have to do with poor character. For my part, I worked full time as a family caregiver through grad school with untreated endocrine and autoimmune issues, and I gained a lot of weight. Any crap I ate at that time reflected my exhaustion and not my respect for my body. I got medical care, I got respite care, I got healthier. Please be kind and patient with people. You don't know their big picture or progress on their path.

I did the same thing. They will eat ANYTHING at the office. However one item I did question bringing it -it appeared to be a chocolate loaf, but after reading the ingredients I am not sure it was actually food. I am not sure it would even decompose if left outside....

I was given a plate of home-made baked goods so I faced your dilemma. I almost threw them away but they were not just packaged junk so I re-gifted them to busy people with no time to bake. They were delighted to get them and I have no more right to judge their desire for those treats than they have to judge my usual avoidance of them.

Anyhow, a week later I sat eating 90% chocolate and pork rinds and wondering if I should've tasted them. Since they would've made me sick (wheat) I'm glad I got rid of them right away!

Any baked goods can be reduced to crumb sizes for birds. Breads, cookies, things like that. You still get to enjoy the gift by feeding birds with it, even if you aren't using it quite the way the gift giver thought you would.

I did the same thing. They will eat ANYTHING at the office. However one item I did question bringing it -it appeared to be a chocolate loaf, but after reading the ingredients I am not sure it was actually food. I am not sure it would even decompose if left outside....

This comment is really uncomfortable to read. Not everyone has your support system, knowledge, background or income. People get fat for all kinds of reasons. Not all of them have to do with poor character. For my part, I worked full time as a family caregiver through grad school with untreated endocrine and autoimmune issues, and I gained a lot of weight. Any crap I ate at that time reflected my exhaustion and not my respect for my body. I got medical care, I got respite care, I got healthier. Please be kind and patient with people. You don't know their big picture or progress on their path.

I agree with give it away, food bank, bring it to the office etc. But to anybody that thinks they might unwantingly give in to temptation of these foods being in your house before being able to give it away (like previous sugar/carb addicts), hurry up and just throw it out now, deep into the bottom of the garbage bag! So not worth it.

Had the same thing happen(girlfriend's mother sent a basket of crackers,cheese,wine,chocolate).We re-distributed them among friends who didn't know each other(Oh hi!I brought a little something over for you!).No waste,and most people enjoy that kind of thing,no matter how much of it they still have around.

I brought two sugar-free pies to my Xmas dinner, as per advance instructions about who would bring what items, and there turned out to be way too much food so I left the dinner with the two pies untouched, still in the box. I don't eat pies or desserts per se. I hate to throw them away and so they sit in my fridge. I am thinking of gathering up a bunch of paper plates and plastic forks from my cupboard, and going in search of homeless persons and surprising them with an entire pie.

If people are unhealthy to begin with they will find their sugar whether you provide it or not. I would say regift it until you start feeling like eating it...then toss it! Or give it to someone on the street.